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The Function and Awakening of Chakras

The chakras are energy transducers in the aura. They serve to integrate physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual facets of the human into a coherent whole.

The Function of the Chakras

Each of the seven chakras plays vital functional roles in our physical body and in our normal subjective consciousness. The chakras are the means by which the functions of the all of the vehicles - including our physical body - are carried out. The actual functions and attributes of the chakras with regard to our physical body is an involved topic, many complex claims are put forth in this regard. There is generally an overlapping and sharing of functions amongst the chakras. Also, the description of the functions of the chakras is not simply physiological, but psychological as well. Thus, when discussing the chakra's functions we are relating physiological functions with psychological behaviors.

Generally speaking however, the three lower chakras (the root, belly and solar plexus chakras) correlate to basic primary needs - those of survival, procreation and will - and have a larger physiological component to their functioning. The four higher chakras are more related to our psychological makeup: the heart, throat and third eye chakras are more advanced and more mature, defining love, communication and knowledge; the crown chakra is purely spiritual, providing the connection to the universe beyond.

The physiological roles of the chakras are roughly as follows:

The root and belly chakras are related to generative and sexual functions.

The solar plexus chakra is related to digestion.

The heart chakra is related to the heart and circulation.

The throat chakra is related to the lungs and the voice, including the ears, nose, and throat.

The third eye chakra is related to vision, the eyes, and the pituitary gland.

The crown chakra is related to the brain, and especially the pituitary and pineal glands.

In terms of psychological functions, the three lower chakras are related to our raw emotions and biological instincts ranging from sexual desire and hunger, into passion, anger, pleasure and joy and other relatively simple emotional states. The four higher chakras are related to higher cognitive states. The heart chakra is related to empathy and understanding. This is where what is seen, heard, felt, touched, is absorbed by the inner self and given a final okay. It is there where you find the Golden Gate, or doorway to all other chakric doors. If this median point is not clear, nor can your third eye be clear and insightful. The heart is a river through which all time flows. The river comes up from within through the other energy centers beneath it. The physical world is tied to the spiritual world here. The throat chakra is related to vocal expression, hearing, and the ability to communicate. The third eye chakra is basic to all spiritual work. It is the heart of the matter and is related to discriminative cognition and the ability to understand. The third eye can communicate what you need to know about the aspects of your life, which are hidden from you. It is the center through which you see the world and others in it. The best way to keep the third eye open is to make sure that you have enough energy going through it from the heart chakra. The crown chakra is also related to understanding and comprehension, but as well serves as an integrative factor, and is thus related to the gestalt nature of the mind.

The Awakening of the Chakras

Above and beyond the ability of theory to view our normal physiological and psychological behavior in a unified fashion, this theory also provides the rationale for psychic abilities. It is by enhancing the activity of ones chakras that one develops psychic abilities or siddhis.

The changes in anatomy by which this is accomplished is as follows. Again, this will only be a rough sketch because the actual range of psychic abilities and the processes involved is very broad and complicated. The lowest chakra (the root chakra) reserves a special function housing an energy called kundalini. It is through the use of the kundalini energy that the chakras get enhanced in their activity. The enhanced activity of a chakra is called the "awakening" of that chakra and is supposedly accompanied by a flaring up of the color of the chakra and a large increase in its speed and energy processing capabilities. Awakening a chakra confers psychic abilities (or siddhis) as well. The awakening of the chakras is effected in actual practice is through certain yoga exercises or hypnosis, though spontaneous occurrences are known. It is also known that certain drugs will stimulate the chakras.Click here to check out a variety of excellent Chakra recordings.

Now, the psychic abilities that are associated with the chakras are roughly as follows. The awakening of the lower three chakras are associated with what they call "psychism", which is considered to be a relatively crude exercise of psychic abilities. This includes mediumship, the ability to dream (dreaming being considered as a crude form of astral projection), and the occurrence of sporadic psychic abilities such as the type studied by parapsychologists (isolated cases of telepathy or precognition, for example). The awakening of the four higher chakras produce what are generally regarded as "legitimate" psychic abilities, involving the conscious use and control of these abilities. These are the siddhis described in various literature, these are often possessed by those who have studied and practiced yoga to a great extent. The awakening of the heart chakra produces enhanced empathic abilities and the ability to heal. The throat chakra leads to clairaudience, which is the ability to hear on the nonphysical planes. The awakening of the third-eye chakra leads to clairvoyance or the ability to see on the nonphysical planes. And the awakening of the crown center is associated both with the ability to consciously travel on the nonphysical planes and with the process of enlightenment.

The Psychology of the Esoteric - This book takes the reader beyond Western psychology, beyond Freud, Jung and the Human Potential Movement, to the psychology of enlightenment, of the buddhas. In detailed talks on the occult and the esoteric psychology of man, Osho explains man's seven energy levels, how to experience and transcend them, and how different dimensions of dreaming come from the different levels. He also talks on Kundalini and the three stages of sexual energy - sex, love and prayer.